I'm a mother from Gaza. When I tried to evacuate, Israel bombed the way out. Nowhere is safe.

Sat, 10/14/2023 - 12:34

a mother in headscarf posing with a little boy in a white shirt with a pineapple on it, and a little girl in pink, all smiling — Rana Akila, a translator in Gaza, fled her home with her husband and two children, Bajes (L) and Laila (R).
Rana Akila

Rana Akila spoke to Insider about life for her family under Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Akila, a mother of two, said she witnessed an IDF airstrike on a convoy of people fleeing northern Gaza.
"It's really horrible," she said. "The bombing is everywhere."

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rana Akila, a 35-year-old mother of two children — a boy, 8, and a girl, 6 — who works as a translator in Gaza.